Cause and effect relationships in technical texts
I can identify cause and effect relationships in technical texts.
8,000 schools use Gynzy
92,000 teachers use Gynzy
1,600,000 students use Gynzy
General
Students discover cause and effect relationships in technical texts and discover the signal words that can be used.
Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3
Learning objective
Students will be able to identify cause and effect relationships in technical texts.
Introduction
Start the class by having students discussing what they know about technical texts with a partner. Have the students share what they came up with and then discuss what technical texts are specifically.
Instruction
Discuss the idea of cause and effect with the class. Tell students that technical texts have chronological events and that you can find these relationships by asking yourself why something happened and what happened. These questions tell us the cause(why) and tell us the effect (what). Explain that this is important because in technical texts they show how things are related or which steps to follow. As a class, have the students determine what the correct order is to make guacamole. Remind students that they need to think about which step should come first because they cannot do a second step correctly if the step before is not done correctly. By doing these steps in order you find the effect.
Next, repeat this with making guacamole, but think about the why—what cause is there for doing things in this order? Have students discuss with their partners/group mates what would happen if the order was not followed correctly and why it important to follow the steps as they are written. Introduce signal words to the students. These are words that indicate a sequence or order of events. Have students read the text and underline the signal words.
Next, read the text about pulse rate and have students determine the order in which the given instructions should be followed, continue on the next slide with determining why the steps are in that particular order. Now have students follow the instructions to find their own pulse. By following the instructions exactly, they should be able to find their pulse. Have them discuss with a partner what might happen if they skip a step.
Quiz
Students answer ten questions about the key concepts given in the lesson, in which they determine cause and effect and identify signal words.
Closing
Remind students that by learning about cause and effect relationships in technical texts they can answer the what and why of a text. They can determine why something is done and what its result is.
To close the lesson, have students work in pairs to make instructions on how to build a snowman. Which signal words will they use? Are there important steps they cannot forget?
Read our blog post to learn more about reading comprehension exercises!
The online teaching platform for interactive whiteboards and displays in schools
Save time building lessons
Manage the classroom more efficiently
Increase student engagement
Discover more!
About Gynzy
Gynzy is an online teaching platform for interactive whiteboards and displays in schools.
With a focus on elementary education, Gynzy’s Whiteboard, digital tools, and activities make it easy for teachers to save time building lessons, increase student engagement, and make classroom management more efficient.